Pepe Survives Septic Shock

The Tragedy

Pepe had seemed a bit off for two days but today she was really sick so the family took Pepe to Treendale Pet Medical. Pepe was so weak she couldn’t stand up. She wasn’t eating. She was just lifeless and looked like her time had come.

The Prognosis

Dr Rob was very worried. Pepe was in circulatory shock. She had no perceived blood pressure or palpable pulse. We could not find a vein to do a blood test. Her perfusion was poor. Her heart rate was rapid and weak. Pepe was in shock and circulatory failure but there was no obvious reason.

It didn’t seem to be a problem with her heart. The heart sounded fine but was beating faster than normal but it wasn’t cardiogenic shock. She was not vomiting and there was no diarrhoea so she wasn’t dehydrated. Could she be bleeding internally? Dr Rob thought initially she might have renal failure but blood and urine tests ruled that out.

The blood tests showed an inflammatory response with high rouleaux formation and high white cell count with the presence of toxic band neutrophils. We did x-rays and ultrasound and found no evidence of cancer or bleeding.

Dr Rob did a blood smear and discovered Pepe had septicaemia also called bacteraemia. This was the cause of her shock. Dr Rob was very worried. We didn’t think she was going to make it but her loving family did not want to give up.

The Miracle

For two and a half days Pepe lay in a comatose state barely alive and seemingly not responding to therapy. She was unresponsive. She was on an IV and getting intravenous antibiotics and supportive care. We syringe fed her liquid food to try and give her body some energy.

Dr Rob didn’t think she was going to make it. We had multiple honest conversations with her family but they would not give up on Pepe so we kept trying. Then on the afternoon of day three she suddenly stood up. Her loving family came to visit and she started eating. We actually couldn’t believe it. Her family gave us a knowing smile. She was a pretty tough doggy and they just knew she would make it. Pepe went home and continued to improve. This truly was a miracle!